Brighton out of basement after draw

EVERTON were unable to keep the pressure on local rivals Liverpool, letting two points slip in the fight for the European places with a lacklustre goalless draw at Brighton.

The Toffees felt the absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin up front and managed just one shot on target during the game, which came in the 71st minute.

The result leaves Everton eighth, four points behind sixth-placed Liverpool and seven behind West Ham in fourth.

In the battle to avoid the drop, Brighton climbed above Burnley into 15th and seven points clear of 18th-placed Fulham.

Inside the first 10 minutes Brighton had the majority of the attacking possession, with Jakub Moder having the first opportunity of the game, dragging a shot wide from 20 yards.

The game livened up, with Everton and Brighton having good opportunities a few minutes apart around the half-hour mark.

The hosts then came close at the other end with Leandro Trossard finding Neal Maupay, only for his shot to be deflected just wide of the goal by Yerry Mina.

Yves Bissouma then tried his luck at the spectacular. With his back to goal at the side of the penalty area, the 24-yearold attempted an overhead kick, but it fell onto the roof of Robin Olsen’s net.

With just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, Olsen was forced to tip Lewis Dunk’s looping header over the bar, with the home side pushing for a winner.

Despite the home side’s dominance, Everton came close to claiming all three points with the final move of normal time, only for Iwobi to fire over the bar.